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The HBO Replay of the PPV fight between WBC/IBF/IBO Heavyweight Champion Hasim Rahman and former champion Lennox Lewis on HBO Boxing
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00:06next on HBO the first time they met a new champion was crowned now it's repeat or revenge
00:13world championship boxing the rebroadcast of Rachman versus Lewis next on HBO I'll be right back
00:34oh
00:39yeah
01:11THE PASSION
01:14THE FASHION
01:16It's time to catch up on Sex and the City.
01:18It hasn't been long enough, has it?
01:20Every Sunday night at 9, see two back-to-back episodes of the last 12 shows of Sex and the
01:25City,
01:26the Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Comedy Series.
01:28I hope you enjoy the ride.
01:31And it's all leading up to six brand-new episodes in January.
01:34Yeah. Oh!
01:36So relive it all.
01:37No. Yes.
01:38Why not?
01:39Back-to-back episodes of Sex and the City, Sunday night at 9 on HBO.
01:47You're watching HBO.
01:51Exhilarating. Hard-hitting. Unbeatable.
01:55HBO Sports.
02:01And now, the HBO Sports presentation, World Championship Boxing.
02:11Stone Cold will not be seen at this time.
02:14We now invite you to watch World Championship Boxing.
02:17Haseem Rockman versus Lennox Lewis, followed by Curb Your Enthusiasm.
02:32The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.
02:41Rockman, jab, jab, jab, jab.
02:44Four of them chases Lewis across the ring.
02:47And knocks him down for the Thunder going to the right hand.
02:51He got a brand-new heavyweight champion, and he's from the United States.
02:56For seven months, after his unforgettable shot in the 5 a.m. darkness of South Africa,
03:02Haseem Rockman strutted his stuff as the heavyweight champion of the world.
03:06And we do mean strutted.
03:08He was honored with a parade.
03:10He emerged as a talk show personality.
03:13He flirted with bigger and bigger money offers from promoters and networks alike.
03:18He ridiculed the court battle that forced him to fight a rematch.
03:21And most of all, he taunted.
03:23He insulted.
03:24He trashed the man from whom he had taken the title.
03:27He put Lennox Lewis on the defensive again.
03:30Or at least so it seemed.
03:32But now we see that through the entire seven months, Lewis was quietly plotting revenge.
03:38Now on HBO, a look back at the devastating knockout by which Lennox Lewis won the heavyweight crown
03:45for the third time in his career.
03:53The End
03:54The End
04:54The high drama of the heavyweight kind and the normal large complement of celebrities
04:58showed up at ringside, the likes of John McEnroe and Paul Reiser, Tracy Ullman and Meg Ryan
05:05together, Rosie O'Donnell, football coaching legend Jimmy Johnson, baseball superstar Mike
05:12Piazza, and Arnold and Maria among the many stars who showed up.
05:20Hello again, everybody.
05:22I'm Jim Lampley along with George Foreman and Larry Merchant as we welcome you to our rebroadcast
05:26of the second of two heavyweight championship battles between American Hasim Rahman and
05:31Englishman Lennox Lewis.
05:33As the two fighters entered the ring last Saturday night, November 17, at the Mandalay Bay Events
05:37Center in Las Vegas, the stakes for Lewis could not have been clearer.
05:41A second loss to Rahman would relegate Lewis to the dustbin of history as a heavyweight champion
05:46largely uncared about by American fight fans, one whose style aroused little passion and
05:53few real followers.
05:54On the other hand, a victory over Rahman would put Lewis back in the position he occupied before
05:59his upset loss in April, that of a man with at least one huge money fight still on the horizon
06:05and a chance to leave the heavyweight division with a significant legacy as a meaningful champion.
06:10So the stakes couldn't have been clearer for Lewis after weeks of buildup, Larry Merchant,
06:15during which Hasim Rahman seemed to have made hay by taunting Lewis, seemingly getting under
06:20his skin, seizing the psychological advantage.
06:22As it turned out in the ring, did that strategy backfire against Rahman?
06:27Sure did, because taunting basically is more about the taunter than the taunty, and Rahman
06:34was very good at it, showed a lot of street smarts and wit and burrowed into Lewis and never
06:40gave him a breath, said he was going to see his cardiologist.
06:46But at the end of the day, what Lennox Lewis did was funnel his obvious rage, which he
06:52didn't try to hide, into a very cool battle plan, which he executed with the kind of passion
07:01we haven't often seen from him.
07:04And that explains, Jim, why Rahman worked so hard and spent so much money in court to avoid
07:13having to fight Lennox Lewis in an immediate rematch.
07:17Well said, and cool indeed, Lewis walked a tight line between aggressiveness and care as he
07:24managed to produce a more destructive performance than has usually been the case without ever
07:28really, George, giving Rahman a chance to retaliate.
07:31As we get ready to watch the fight again on tape, tell us what it is that Lewis did so
07:36well
07:36this time that he failed to do in South Africa.
07:39First of all, he took a lot of the weight off his legs.
07:41He lost weight.
07:42He was in shape, able to bounce around, and he bruised him.
07:46Not only did he use the left jab this time, he should have done this the first time.
07:50It would have been a lot easier fight.
07:51Putting more weight behind the jab, busting him up, having him worried about his own face.
07:55It's the benchmark of Lennox Lewis' whole career.
07:58When he uses his jab effectively, everything else falls into place.
08:02Let's take you back now to last Saturday night in Las Vegas, and you can watch that and the
08:07many other indicators by which we saw Lewis' gradually emerging dominance over Rahman.
08:14Tale of the tape for the rematch between Hasim Rahman and Lennox Lewis.
08:19Lewis, at 36 years of age, is he off the diving board?
08:24The height advantage of 2 1⁄2 inches for Lewis.
08:28Reach advantage listed here, although there are some statistical compilations that indicate
08:33Rahman has an identical reach to that of Lewis.
08:35By our measurements, Lewis still 2 inches longer.
08:38Rahman weighed in 2 pounds under his Johannesburg weight at 236.
08:43Lewis, 6 1⁄2 pounds under his Johannesburg weight at 246 1⁄2.
08:49We look back at a CompuBox statistical profile of what happened in the first fight down in
08:55South Africa.
08:56And the first thing you'll notice is that Lennox Lewis was throwing only 32 punches per round.
09:03Lewis must throw many more punches than that in order to maximize his chances to win.
09:09At his best, he throws about 60 punches per round, of which about 30 are jabs.
09:14But in South Africa, Lewis was only throwing 19 jabs per round.
09:18Rahman was landing about the same number, but throwing more, and that activity level helped
09:23the set rock up for the right hand that won the fight.
09:27Rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Lederman.
09:30The Hassim Rahman-Lennox Lewis fight is scheduled for 12 rounds using the unified rules of the
09:36Association of Boxing Commissions.
09:37There is no three-knockdown rule.
09:39Only the referee can stop the fight.
09:41In case a cut is caused by an accidental headbutt, we'll go to the scorecards if the four rounds
09:47have been completed, and you cannot be saved by the bell at any round, including the 12th
09:52and final round.
09:53Jim.
09:57For the first time in nearly five years, Lennox Lewis, in the role of challenger, will enter
10:05the ring first.
10:12George, we've talked about the significance in the past of a fighter trying to come back
10:18from a knockout loss against the same fighter who knocked him out.
10:22What must Lewis do in round one to reverse the psychology with which they left South Africa?
10:28Got to make certain he doesn't get into any exchanges so that he does not taste and remember
10:34probably some injured confidence in there.
10:37One shot could bring it all back to him.
10:39I've been in that position before.
10:40You remember those knockouts too well.
10:43So his best thing is to stay out of exchanges, let him throw the shot from long ranges, don't
10:48get hit.
10:48A rather pointed choice of entry music here as Lewis walks in to James Brown's The Big
10:55Payback.
10:57Lennox Lewis has at least in his public utterances been in total denial of what happened in South
11:08South Africa.
11:10He has a chance tonight to turn around that lazy, complacent, arrogant performance.
11:22Incidentally, Jim, the odds when this fight opened were somewhere between four and five to
11:29one in favor of Lewis, the latest report is down to two to one.
11:35So the betting public is giving Rachman a serious chance to repeat South Africa.
11:47Well, I don't think there's any question that observing the outward manifestations of the
11:52psychological interplay between the two fighters in these last few weeks leading up to the fight,
11:56but the general perception is that Rachman is the one who's comfortable and likes his position.
12:02Lewis is on the defensive.
12:05Lennox says, that's not the case.
12:07I'll reverse that as soon as I get into the ring tomorrow night.
12:10We tell C.
12:12Remember that his history is when he gets angry or respectful or even fearful of an opponent,
12:21he tends to become more defensive, which is to his advantage as a fighter.
12:28That's his best style.
12:30His natural style.
12:32A cautious stand-to-ground counterpuncher.
12:35Here comes the man who might be seen as the attacker.
12:38However, certainly he was the attacker in South Africa.
12:41When he went to Johannesburg to fight Lennox Lewis, he was widely seen as an ordinary fighter.
12:47Larry, in recent weeks, he's been at great pain to portray himself as just an ordinary guy
12:52who happens to hold the heavyweight championship of the world.
12:55How much chance is there that at the end of this night we'll look back and say,
12:59well, he was just ordinary after all?
13:01Well, he is just an ordinary guy in the sense, one of 12 children, brother who's a doctor,
13:09father who's a Muslim prison minister, an ordinary guy who sold drugs as a teenager,
13:17had five bullets removed from his stomach, and 500-plus stitches put into his head
13:24after a fatal car accident, an ordinary guy who went from thug to pub to heavyweight champion
13:32of the world, just about as ordinary as you can be, Jim.
13:37Like so many American heavyweights of recent vintage, he came relatively late to the sport
13:43after having shown his athletic talent in other pursuits, like football and swimming.
13:48His father wanted him to swim in a swim club as a teenager, and he did,
13:53but he's approached a steep learning curve in boxing pretty doggone well.
13:57Yes, he has.
13:59You know, we thought four or five years ago that he was a comer, that he had a chance,
14:04that he showed athletic ability, that he showed intelligence in the ring, but then he seemed
14:11to crest, go into a valley when he was knocked out by Moskiewicz, but this is a sport with
14:20one punch can change your life, and it changed his and maybe ours.
14:24So, George, is it Hasim Rahman's job now to go into this first round and try to hit Lennox
14:32Lewis as soon as possible with another big right-hand shot?
14:36Remember, the knockout that he got over Lewis kind of developed itself.
14:40He didn't go out to a surgeon board.
14:42He, the knockout came to him.
14:44You go out to a surgeon board and you find yourself in a fix that so many fighters have
14:47been in with Lennox Lewis, trying to reach that long left jab, trying to get too much
14:52shit to close that distance.
14:54Let it happen.
14:55It happened before, it can happen again.
15:00A sizable number of ringside experts making exactly that pick in the last few days, watching
15:06the two fighters leading up to the fight.
15:08Many of the writers and broadcasters now saying, Rock's going to do it again.
15:13Let's see if he does, as we go up to Timmy Lennon Jr. for the official introductions.
15:20Ladies and gentlemen, a very good evening to you, and we welcome you to the beautiful
15:26Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino here in Las Vegas, Nevada, as it's time for the featured
15:33bout of the evening, and it's all brought to you by Don King Productions in association with
15:39Lion Promotions, main events, the Mandalay Bay and Budweiser, the undisputed king of beer.
15:48This bout coming away is sanctioned by the WBC, President Jose Suleiman, Supervisor Mauricio
15:55Suleiman, the IBF President Marion Mohamed, Supervisor Mahassan Scott, and the Nevada State
16:02Athletic Commission.
16:02The chairman is Dr. Luther Mack, Commissioners Amy Ayoub, Dr. Tony Alamo, Glenn Carano, and
16:08Dr. Flip Womanski, with the Executive Director, Mark Ratner.
16:14Introducing to you our judges, scoring this bout from ringside, all from Las Vegas, Nevada,
16:19Patricia Jarman Manning, Dave Moretti, and Jerry Roth, and the third man to the ring, the
16:25referee in charge of this bout.
16:27He is working in this, his 145th world title bout, Joe Cortez.
16:34All right, fans, here we go.
16:39Live from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, it's time for the bout you've all been waiting
16:46for the main event of the evening, 12 rounds of boxing for the heavyweight championship
16:54of the world.
17:00Introducing to you first, the challenger on my left, fighting out of the blue corner,
17:06entering the ring, wearing white trunks with red trim, hailing from London, England.
17:12He weighed in at a ready 246 and one half pounds.
17:17His record stands at 38 wins, two losses, one draw with 29 wins coming by way of knockout.
17:26Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 1988 Olympic gold medalist, the former two-time
17:32and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
17:36Here is tonight's challenger, introducing Lennox Lewis.
17:51And his opponent across the ring on my right, fighting out of the red corner, the defending
17:56world champion, entering the ring, wearing red, white, and blue trunks, fighting out of
18:02and representing his home, Baltimore, Maryland.
18:07He weighed in at 236 pounds with a record of 35 wins, two losses.
18:14He has 29 wins coming by way of knockout.
18:18Ladies and gentlemen, tonight he is making the first defense of his title.
18:22Please welcome the WBC, the IBF, and the IBO heavyweight champion of the world.
18:29Introducing the hard-hitting Haseem, the Rock, Rathmaa.
18:44Once again, a referee in charge.
18:46Now to give instructions, Joe Cortez.
18:55Deep water, it's a deep water.
18:59All right, pull off that t-shirt.
19:01Jack!
19:14All right, gentlemen.
19:17We've won all the rules in the dressing room.
19:19I expect a good, clean fight.
19:21I want good sportsmen-like conduct.
19:24Guys, these trunks here are legs a little high.
19:27Punches up up here, they're good.
19:29Same thing with you.
19:30Punches here a little.
19:31Trunks a little high.
19:33Punches here is good.
19:34Give me a good, clean fight.
19:35Obey my commands at all times.
19:37Remember, guys, I'm fair, but I'm firm.
19:39God bless you.
19:40God bless America.
19:41Touch them all.
19:53It's on, baby.
19:53It's an offensive decision by Lewis.
19:56This being boxing, we often get uncommon sense.
20:01Something we never foresee.
20:04Those are the two forms of conventional wisdom.
20:07There's no sweat on Rockman.
20:09Rockman is pretty dry.
20:11That is not good, is it, George?
20:13That's the way you want to be couched.
20:16Now, do you suppose Lennox Lewis is alert and aware enough to note that Rockman is dry?
20:21He should benefit himself just by him being in that position.
20:26When a guy is dry like that, don't let him get sweaty and loose.
20:36Rockman coming back with the jab.
20:38Trying to get that weapon started just as he did in round one in Johannesburg.
20:43Lennox has got to make certain that his back is always at least three feet away from those ropes.
20:49Give him time to be hit and move out of the way.
20:52Neither man has a good history with his back against the ropes.
20:56Rockman's two losses against Moscai Aventua.
20:59Both came when he got trapped against the ropes and hammered by power punches.
21:07Hard right hand by Lewis over the top.
21:10Lands on Rockman's chin.
21:12Hard right, sir.
21:13Let him go.
21:14Let him go.
21:15Let him go, please.
21:16Let him go.
21:16That may have been a more effective right hand than any of the right hands Lennox threw in
21:21South Africa.
21:21I see blood already on Rockman's face.
21:25Let's hope it's the red from the gloves and not blood.
21:31When Lennox throws that left jab, he has to constantly move.
21:34He can't stand there and see if the jab lands.
21:37Again, he's got to keep moving.
21:38Step in the hand.
21:39Jab, step.
21:40Jab, step.
21:41Step.
21:43Halfway through the round, Rockman has yet to throw a right hand.
21:50So it appears that Rockman has come to box, not to punch, at least for the moment.
21:56Lewis, his normal pace itself, sticking the jab and allowing Rockman to come to him.
22:02In the first fight, Rockman jabbed to the chest.
22:06He didn't reach the Lennox head.
22:07You better go back to the basic.
22:09Keep the jab head into his chest.
22:11Everything good happens.
22:15If you're in Lennox Lewis' corner, you'll like what you've seen in these first couple
22:19of minutes.
22:19If you're in Hassin Rockman's corner, you may still be waiting for your man to get properly
22:23warmed up.
22:24Somebody is bleeding, and I think it is Rockman because there's blood on the left shoulder
22:29of Lewis.
22:30I think the right hand opened Rockman's left eye.
22:33And that left eye was bleeding in South Africa at the moment when Rockman knocked Lewis
22:38off.
22:38It created a sense of urgency for Rockman in South Africa, and he's bleeding above the
22:44left eye now.
22:45You don't want him to let Lennox Lewis get his rhythm with his jab.
22:50I'm told that the replay's going to show the right hand was on the tip, so maybe it's the
22:55jab that opened the left eye.
22:57With a good right hand, that's the same.
23:01But there's no question Rockman is bleeding from above the left eye.
23:05That is his lead eye.
23:06It's the eye that Lewis will be targeting with his jab.
23:09It's a disadvantage for Hassin Rockman from the get-go.
23:15Good round for Lewis.
23:17He drew blood.
23:22Keep pumping the jab, baby.
23:23Watch in the right hand.
23:24I still have to get a little bit more of the hooks off from down here when you get the
23:27hook
23:27off, okay?
23:28Fighting a good fight.
23:29Good fight.
23:31Good fight.
23:36Rockman's cut man is the excellent Miguel Diaz.
23:39It's nice and calm, baby.
23:40That jab is doing a toll.
23:41You don't hurt him already.
23:43Put the right hand behind him.
23:48Come in hand with the left hook.
23:50Suck it in.
23:55You're okay, baby.
23:56Miguel got you.
23:57You're okay.
23:57Let's take a look at the replay, Larry.
24:01That could have been the jab.
24:03And from the reaction...
24:06It was a right hand a while before then that did all of that.
24:09Well, from Rockman's reaction, he knows he is bleeding.
24:13That was not the jab to do it.
24:15The punch to do it.
24:17Jabs in round one.
24:18Lewis threw 37 of them and landed 17.
24:20The statistical marker on Lewis in those fights in which he throws more than 30 jabs per round.
24:25He's awfully hard to handle.
24:27Rockman threw 30 jabs in the first round and landed 16.
24:31So he's off to a good start as well.
24:33He's allowing Lewis to use the middle of the ring is what he shouldn't do.
24:37Lewis' back should always be two feet from the rope.
24:41Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Mark Ragnar assures us
24:45that the cut over Rockman's eye was caused by a punch, not by a butt.
24:49So it's a legal cut.
24:50I saw the right hand.
24:51That's for sure.
24:54I don't think Rockman saw it coming.
24:56Lennox Lewis threw 37 jabs in round one.
24:59If he throws 37 jabs around, Emmanuel Stewart, his trainer, is going to be very happy with
25:04the way Lewis is prosecuting the fight.
25:07There's a left hook that lands and a right to the body.
25:09Lewis only hurts himself when he gets into these close exchanges.
25:13If he can stay on the outside, close exchanges, he's going to hurt.
25:20There he jabs and steps back.
25:22That's part of the plan.
25:24Jab, step back, keep the distance between himself and Rockman.
25:36Now Lewis is getting closer to the ropes.
25:38This is what Rockman should like now.
25:40Bring it up, bring it up.
25:41Make him keep his back on those ropes.
25:43And the same right hand is always there for you.
25:53He exchanges, still in the center of the ring for the moment.
26:01But Lewis is trying to keep his jab upstairs.
26:03Now he throws to the body.
26:04A tactic that worked so well for Rockman in South Africa.
26:08Some of the jabs that Lewis is landing are the hardest I've ever seen him land.
26:14That's where it has to be.
26:15It's got to be hard.
26:16He's got to puff you up so that you can make the man's dish.
26:20Yeah, there have been times when he's just been sort of painting his opponent
26:24and moving away at the same time.
26:26But he's throwing some hard left hands tonight.
26:34This is indeed a very aggressive jabbing performance by Lewis.
26:38And you saw him jab to the top of the head, then bring the right hand over the top, George.
26:42He loves to hide the right hand by jabbing you up on the head.
26:45Once again, Lewis' legs are a little too close to the ropes.
26:49That's where he's going to find his troubles if he finds them at all.
26:52Back is getting even closer now.
26:54He's got to stay in the middle of the ring.
26:59Rockman is starting to get him to go on the ropes now.
27:02How do you like the way Rockman's working his way back into it?
27:06He's got his body.
27:07Got Lennox back on the rope.
27:10Lennox is in an excellent position now.
27:12Stay in the middle of the ring.
27:13Lennox misses with a big left hook.
27:16As round two comes to a close.
27:24Have fun.
27:25Once you get into your foot, here, don't forget, this man ain't no big hooker.
27:29Ain't nobody punch.
27:29All you watching is one thing all night.
27:31Just take that away from him.
27:33Even if you want to get set in front of him.
27:34Let me shield that in front of him.
27:35Try and do it.
27:38You've got to get him to your floor a little bit.
27:42You've got to be staying low, Lennox.
27:44He's going to get desperate, Lennox.
27:45He's getting desperate, Lennox.
27:47Take that away from him.
27:48Even if you have to be set right there and shield it.
27:50Take that away from him.
27:51Suck it in.
27:52How do you feel, baby?
27:53Good.
27:53Tip it.
27:54What's that jab start landing?
27:56You know the right hand come behind him.
27:57Do it.
28:02Here's Lewis after throwing a series of jabs.
28:04Lands a clean left hook.
28:06And here, some jabs.
28:08That is one stiff jab.
28:12And he's thrown 68 jabs in the first two rounds.
28:15He's never lost a fight in which he's averaged 30 jabs per round.
28:19Through round two by CompuBox numbers of 72 total connected punches, 55 are jabs.
28:26So it has been a jabbing contest up to a point.
28:28But Lewis did land the one big right hand in round number one.
28:32And he drew blood.
28:34So perhaps Rockman got under Lewis' skin with the taunting.
28:40But Lewis got under his skin with a punch.
28:45Lewis' corner told him, don't worry about the left hand.
28:47Don't worry about the hook.
28:48Just stay out of the right hand.
28:49That's your harm's way.
28:51Lewis is doing a good job.
28:52But you got to step back to your left every now and then.
28:54Make him throw the hook.
28:56Make Rockman throw his hook.
28:59Rockman doesn't seem to have any confidence in a good, strong left hook.
29:03So what do you want to do is make him throw it.
29:05Just make him do it.
29:08Rockman contends in sparring his left hook is getting better.
29:11But he's been a one-two fighter through most of his career.
29:14Jab right cross.
29:16As for that matter, has Lewis.
29:18There's a left hook by Lewis.
29:19And it lands.
29:20It hurt.
29:22Not only did it land, it hurt Rockman.
29:24Now you don't want to get too overconfident with a guy who's knocked you out.
29:28Keep the hurt on.
29:29Keep the rounds coming.
29:34Rockman trying to pound to the body as he gets in close.
29:41Lewis lands another stiff dab and Rockman backs right out.
29:52That's the hook.
29:53Make him throw those hooks.
29:54Lewis is doing a good job of that.
29:58He seems for the moment, George.
30:00To have nullified Rockman's right hand.
30:02How's he doing it?
30:03Boy, he's hurt him from long range, as we said earlier.
30:06Hits him with a good right hand and never tries to finish it.
30:10This is not a Lennox Lewis who is especially defensive.
30:15He's boxing and punching.
30:21This is a Lennox Lewis who's commanding the space in the ring
30:24in exactly the same way he did not do it in South Africa.
30:31Rockman can still reel this fight in, but he's going to have to get Lennox Lewis on that hook.
30:35Make him, there you go.
30:37Make him, make him believe out of that left hook.
30:40Rockman finally lands a left hook there.
30:42His knees are trembling already because of a left hook.
30:46He's holding a little bit this time, Lennox Lewis.
30:48That left hook rung his bell.
30:55But the jab comes back.
30:58And when Lewis doubles up and triples up on the dab,
31:02he keeps the space between himself and Rockman.
31:07Rockman dabbing to the body again.
31:09Lewis' hands are down.
31:10He's close to the rope.
31:11What more can you ask for if you're Rockman?
31:2153 damn jab.
31:22It's all the formula though.
31:23When you started going to him.
31:25You can change up on this man now.
31:27You don't have to.
31:27You can start saving yourself.
31:29Start going to him and playing.
31:30Everybody backing up.
31:31Throw the right kidney and stuff.
31:33And every time he come at you,
31:34do like this.
31:35Put them hands up.
31:35That kills everything.
31:36Just keep doing that.
31:38You can't get over your arms.
31:39Every time you make any kind of retreat,
31:41I mean, once you put your hands up high.
31:44That stops everything.
31:45Why are you moving the bucket for him?
31:49He's good.
31:50Good.
31:51Just relax yourself, champ.
31:52Put the grease in the paddles.
31:54Put the grease in the paddles.
31:58Lennox Lewis may have been outwitted by the verbally sharp champion.
32:06He is not being outhit by him.
32:10First three rounds have followed the Lewis plan,
32:13particularly in the sense that he's throwing the jab with great frequency.
32:18Averaging 34 jabs per round.
32:20He landed 17 out of 34 jabs in round three.
32:23That's a great statistical indicator for Lewis from CompuBox.
32:27Harold Lederman, how'd you score the first three rounds?
32:29Okay, Jim.
32:30Three and nothing, 30 to 27.
32:33Lennox Lewis.
32:33Jim, when a guy circles to his right, like Lennox is doing,
32:36it's an unnatural move for a right-hand fighter.
32:39He's doing it beautifully,
32:40so that rock can't hit him with that big right hand.
32:43Good green generalship for Lennox Lewis.
32:45Another thing.
32:46In all the exchanges, Lennox will get off first.
32:49Keep Rockman off balance so Rockman can't get set to punch.
32:52Watch this.
32:53Lennox is always going to land the first punch.
32:57And perhaps by way of trying to ask his fighter to be even more aggressive,
33:02Emmanuel Stewart between rounds said to Lennox Lewis,
33:05Lennox, this man can't counterpunch.
33:07Go get him.
33:09Yeah, but the one thing that lives in Lennox Lewis' head,
33:13that night in Africa.
33:14Yep.
33:14You can't take that away from him.
33:18You know, even his own corner said to him, or to Rockman,
33:23if he punches, just keep your hands high.
33:26They're telling him not to counterpunch.
33:28Boom!
33:29Boom!
33:31Will Rockman get up, or have the tables been turned?
33:35Is it reversed?
33:40It's over.
33:42Lennox Lewis has kept in his revenge,
33:48and now it's Rockman complaining in the corner
33:52that he didn't get the full count.
33:57Lennox Lewis fought a virtually perfect fight.
34:07Emmanuel Stewart asked him to attack.
34:09He did, and he got the result they were looking for.
34:12George, what did you think of the stoppage?
34:14You know what happened?
34:15Lennox Lewis let an ordinary fighter beat him in Africa.
34:18He came back and made the ordinary fighter
34:21look like an ordinary fighter.
34:22I think the stoppage was right on time.
34:25The guy got caught with a hard shot.
34:26Very few fellas can get up from him.
34:28He got up, went down.
34:30Cortez, the best.
34:31In the trial in which Rockman was forced to take this rematch,
34:39Emmanuel Stewart testified that you have to make it immediate
34:45because our fighter Lennox Lewis is getting older.
34:49Lennox Lewis just made him a perjurer.
34:53I love it.
34:55Larry's talking about age in the opposite direction.
34:58He's been converted.
35:00That may turn out to be Lennox Lewis' most respected performance ever in the ring.
35:07Isn't that something else?
35:10Beautiful stuff.
35:12This is what some of his supporters thought he could have done to Holyfield if he had decided to be
35:17more aggressive.
35:18Rockman totally out of position after the left, and the right hand was goodnight.
35:22He did it by long range.
35:24That's most important.
35:26He didn't try to close in.
35:27Everything was out in the opening.
35:29That's the way you want to fight a puncher.
35:32And he set it all up with the left hand by firing aggressively, keeping his left hand in Rockman's face,
35:38mixing in the left hook every once in a while with the jab.
35:41He changed it up here.
35:42Instead of jabbing right hand, it was hook and right hand.
35:45And you know what?
35:46The old saying, never follow a puncher around.
35:49And Rockman did.
35:50Rockman made the fatal mistake.
35:52I'm going to follow you no matter what you jab me or what.
35:54I'm going to follow you.
35:55Well, Rockman has spent months saying he had no respect for Lennox Lewis.
35:58He went into the ring and showed he had no respect for Lennox Lewis, and he paid the price.
36:02It happened to Lennox Lewis in the same fashion.
36:03He had no respect for Rockman, and he tasted candy.
36:07So now they're even.
36:08Fifth round knockout for Rockman in South Africa.
36:10Fourth round knockout for Lewis here.
36:12And Lennox regains what he surely believes is his right, the heavyweight championship of the world.
36:18Isn't that something?
36:20Cannot believe it.
36:21And this all happened because Rockman had no respect.
36:24He didn't repeat beating in the chest.
36:26He just threw at the head and missed.
36:28And incidentally, to go back to the point you made at the very beginning of the fight,
36:32Rockman came into the ring, not fully warmed up, and he never really caught up the Lewis's momentum.
36:37Dry as a bone.
36:38And by the time the sweat was there, he's already caught on a bloody eye.
36:43What's that about?
36:43I told you they were unknown.
36:45They were unknown.
36:46What's that about?
36:46Look at Jess.
36:47All three judges had scored the first three rounds all for Lewis, so he was well on his
36:53way to the decision victory that most of his supporters thought he'd get.
36:56Then he shortened it up.
36:57Let's go to Jimmy Lennon Jr. for the official particulars.
37:02Ladies and gentlemen, we have the time of one minute, 29 seconds in round number four.
37:10Our referee in charge, Joe Cortez, reaches the count of ten.
37:14The winner by way of knockout.
37:16He is now the three-time heavyweight champion of the world, Lennox Lewis.
37:36Final CompuBox numbers will show you Lewis' advantages in all categories.
37:42He landed 24 more punches.
37:45He threw 39 more punches.
37:46He was brilliantly accurate connecting with half the punches that he threw.
37:51He painted Rachman with power punches, mostly set up by the jab.
37:56And in the end, he scored the huge combination.
38:00Left hook, right cross, and knocked Rachman out.
38:03There you have it.
38:04Total jabs.
38:05Lewis threw 111 jabs in just under four rounds.
38:09And that's the benchmark when he throws dirty 30 jabs per round.
38:14You can't handle him.
38:15Rachman could not.
38:16Let's go to Larry Merchant with the heavyweight champ, Lennox Lewis.
38:20Thank you, Jim.
38:23Congratulations, Lennox.
38:25You came into the fight.
38:27Your opponent was bone dry.
38:30Did you notice anything right from the start?
38:33Well, I seen a little twinkle in his eye, you know.
38:36You know, plus I've been dreaming all week to change his name.
38:39Change his name from husband to has-been Rachman.
38:43His name has been Rachman now.
38:45No, no, no.
38:48How did you turn your anger at him for all of the taunts he's been making at you
38:55into a positive for you?
39:01I didn't even hear the question.
39:02I'm sorry, Lennox.
39:04How did you turn...
39:08How did you turn all the anger that you had welling up in you
39:13because of the taunting,
39:15because of your own lackluster performance in Africa
39:19into this positive?
39:21I just stayed focused, you know.
39:24When we were in South Africa, yeah,
39:27I said that belts were on loan.
39:29So he's had his 15 minutes of glory.
39:32Now they come back home to me.
39:34Do you acknowledge now that you didn't give your absolute best effort,
39:39you didn't take him seriously in Africa?
39:42Well, you know what?
39:43I didn't take him serious enough.
39:44I was in good shape in Africa,
39:46but, you know, one punch,
39:47he got through with one punch when it was...
39:49I was a little not focused in that fight,
39:53and he got through with a great punch.
39:54We're in the heavyweight business.
39:56You can end things in one punch.
39:57Why did you hide out in your dressing room tonight?
40:00You seemed like you were just, what,
40:02in your own zone,
40:03and you just were focused on what was going to happen?
40:06Yeah, I was very focused.
40:07I didn't want to get into the hoopla.
40:08I was just showing the world that I was focused.
40:10They couldn't see too much of me.
40:12Even Rockman wanted to come in and see what I was doing.
40:13He was nervous, so he was outside my dressing room.
40:16I was laughing.
40:17Madiba!
40:18Yeah, big up South Africa!
40:20The first few rounds,
40:21you described what you were doing in the first few rounds.
40:25Your jab seemed more authoritative than we've ever seen it.
40:29You stayed away from his right hand.
40:31Was that the plan?
40:32Yeah, just to give him some movement.
40:33He couldn't take the movement,
40:35and, you know, I just showed him a different style.
40:37I told you, I can switch any style I want to,
40:40and this time I just showed him a different style of moving.
40:44All right, let's go now to the fourth.
40:46Let's go to the fourth round
40:48and take a look at the knockout.
40:50You tell us what you saw.
40:52Emmanuel told you in the corner you can be more aggressive.
40:54What did you see?
40:56Well, I notice every time I try and reach around him with a hook,
40:58he sticks his arms out,
40:59and more time he's watching out for the straight right hand,
41:02so I kind of turned it around on him
41:04and threw a roundhouse right hand.
41:08Emmanuel Stewart also said to you,
41:10look, this man doesn't counterpunch.
41:12You can attack him.
41:14Yeah, you know, I took some of the pressure to him.
41:16You know, I gave him a lot of things to think about.
41:18Kitchener-Waterloo, big up!
41:21What does that mean?
41:22Huh?
41:23What did you say?
41:23I'm just bigging him up,
41:25bigging up all these places.
41:26Miami, big up!
41:27All right.
41:28It was speculated before this fight,
41:32and reasonably that you had been knocked out by this man
41:35and that you would be conscious of that in this fight.
41:39How did you express that?
41:40Well, I definitely wasn't gun-shy.
41:42You know, plus I wanted to knock him out in the fourth round
41:45a little quicker than he knocked me out,
41:47so, you know, in a sense I got my up on him.
41:50Do you feel that any of his pre-fight antics
41:54from the fight at the ESPN publicity tour
41:58to all of the stuff that was going on
42:02helped you in any way?
42:04Yeah, it did.
42:05Those things really helped me.
42:06You know, I showed a lot of disrespect there,
42:08and I just was keeping all these things inside me.
42:11I said, okay, you're going to pay fight time,
42:13and, you know, this is where he paid for it.
42:14Watch this, Brent!
42:15Brent!
42:15Thank you very much,
42:16but now talk to us about your future.
42:21There are a number of fighters out there
42:22who you could fight,
42:24whether it's Tyson Bird,
42:26who is a number-one-ranked fighter.
42:31It could be your countryman, Kirk Johnson.
42:33It could be Vladimir Klitschko.
42:36Where do you want to go?
42:37You know, I want Tyson.
42:38Definitely want Tyson, you know.
42:40I've been waiting for him
42:41since after the Holyfield fight,
42:43but it doesn't really matter to me.
42:44I'll take whoever.
42:45You know, Ocean's Eleven is coming up,
42:47and I was fighting a guy named Magnavich on screen,
42:51so that fight may come around.
42:53There's Bird out there.
42:54There's enough guys out there,
42:55but, you know, whoever, whoever.
42:56How satisfying is this fight for you
42:59compared to anything else
43:01that's happened in your career?
43:02It's very satisfying for me
43:03because, you know,
43:04a lot of people had me count out.
43:05They said I was too old.
43:06They said this may wreck my future.
43:10You know, I'm really happy about it.
43:12You know, I knew what I wanted to do,
43:13what I was going to go out there and do,
43:14and I went out and did it.
43:15Thank you very much, Lennox.
43:17Congratulations again.
43:18Yeah.
43:23And now Larry Merchant will go across the ring
43:26and try to get a word with Hasim Rahman
43:28as we take an aerial look
43:30at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino
43:33where, in the Events Center,
43:34Lennox Lewis has regained his heavyweight crown.
43:37And now let's go to Larry Merchant
43:39with the now former heavyweight champ,
43:41Hasim Rahman.
43:43Thank you again, Jim.
43:45Hasim, you said that you thought
43:47he would try to fight you
43:49in some different way tonight.
43:51What was that way from your perspective?
43:55Well, I thought he was attacking
43:56more early than last time
43:57and provided me plenty of opportunity
43:59to come down with my own right hand.
44:01But I thought he kept his distance good today.
44:04But basically, the whole situation is
44:06it ain't no dominant champions out here today.
44:09Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson,
44:10Hassan Rockman, Vander Holyfield,
44:12John Rue, any of us can get beaten
44:13on any given day.
44:14As we keep showing,
44:15it's just a round robin
44:16and it ain't no dominant champions out here.
44:19You know, I got to give him respect.
44:20He prepared well.
44:21He was in shape.
44:22He threw a nice, hard right hand.
44:24I didn't even see the punch coming.
44:25He threw it off the hook,
44:26blinded me with the hook
44:27and threw the right hand.
44:28It was a good punch.
44:29I give him enough credit.
44:31He got the title.
44:32He's the champ.
44:33But ain't nobody got no long title reign who I see.
44:35Was his left jab more important in this fight
44:41than it was before?
44:42Because he seemed to be landing it
44:45with more authority
44:46and you weren't landing yours.
44:48Yeah, I think it was not only his jab,
44:51but his distance.
44:52He did a good job with his footwork
44:54and his distance.
44:54He stopped me from landing my jab really well.
44:57He was a lot more cautious.
44:59And he fought a good fight.
45:01He fought a good fight.
45:02He must study the taste pretty good.
45:03And you can't take nothing away from him.
45:06But as you know,
45:07any of us get hit with a big right hand,
45:09it's a lot of punches at the top of this division.
45:11It ain't no heavyweight that's going to stand
45:14at the top like that right now.
45:15All right, let's take a look at what happened
45:17in the fourth round, Rock,
45:20and see how that ended in the round
45:23before you finished him in South Africa.
45:27He led with the hook,
45:28you know, turned my head with the hook,
45:29blinded me with the hook
45:30and threw the straight, perfect right hand.
45:32You know, with these big, strong guys,
45:34lifting an enormous amount of weights,
45:36look at it, it was a good shot, you know.
45:37And I wasn't able to recover.
45:39So, you know, that's what happened.
45:41Was that, did that bloody eye bother you at all?
45:45Oh, yeah.
45:45I mean, he caught my eye in the first round.
45:47It was dripping, but, you know,
45:48I had to go on.
45:50I ain't even really want to par at it
45:51because, you know,
45:52no sense to come up that I want to quit
45:54or this, that, and the other.
45:55But I ain't no quitter.
45:56I mean, Lennox Lewis been knocked out
45:57on the amateurs and the pros.
45:59You know, that's just something
45:59that happened in boxing.
46:00Some of my fighters get knocked out
46:02is how they come back.
46:03You know, he came back,
46:04showed he a true champion.
46:06Now it was up to me to come back
46:07and see what I can do.
46:09Do you think that all the taunting
46:11that you did so successfully against him
46:14before the fight
46:16helped him at the end of the day?
46:18I don't know.
46:19I think it was his preparation.
46:20The taunting, I don't think,
46:21had anything to do either way.
46:22He prepared proper.
46:24He had a good game plan.
46:25He kept his, he kept my jab away
46:28and he kept his distance.
46:30I thought he fought a very smart,
46:31very intelligent fight.
46:32And I was, you know,
46:34hoping that I could get him
46:35into the later rounds
46:35where he could slow down a little bit.
46:37But, you know,
46:38it didn't happen, unfortunately.
46:39And I just got to go back
46:40to the drawing board.
46:41I take it from your comments
46:43that you're going to keep on keeping on
46:45and you want more big fights
46:47as a heavyweight.
46:48Oh, definitely.
46:48I want to fight somebody, you know,
46:50who can fight,
46:51who I'm not supposed to be able to beat,
46:53as always.
46:53And I think I got a few more surprises
46:55in the, in the, in the, in the board.
46:57Just one thing.
46:58Of all the gamblers in this town
47:00on this night,
47:02you took the biggest gamble of all
47:05by taking less money
47:08and taking your chance
47:10that the future would take care of itself.
47:13Do you regret that?
47:14Oh, not at all.
47:15Uh, who says I took less money?
47:17You know, my purse.
47:18Do you regret that?
47:20Oh, not at all.
47:21Uh, who says I took less money?
47:23You know, my purse ain't, ain't tallied up yet.
47:26My purse is generated on
47:27pay-per-view buys,
47:29the crowd sales.
47:30You know what I'm saying?
47:31Uh, nobody,
47:31you can't tell me what,
47:32what I made.
47:33Can you tell me what I made?
47:34No, I'm not a, a good accountant.
47:37I might make five,
47:38six million dollars more than him.
47:40Thank you very much, Rock.
47:41You're welcome.
47:42We'll see you again.
47:44Jim.
47:45In the end,
47:46it was a near-immaculate performance
47:47for Lewis,
47:48the sizzling jab
47:49that pushed Rockman back
47:50and kept him on the defensive.
47:52The huge right hand
47:53in the first round,
47:54which should have prompted
47:55Rockman to respect
47:56Lewis's power,
47:58but didn't.
47:59And finally,
48:00the closer in round four,
48:01a perfectly thrown combination,
48:03left hook,
48:04right cross,
48:05good night.
48:11So there you have it,
48:12brief,
48:13unequivocal,
48:14to the point.
48:15Larry,
48:15as big a victory
48:16as Lewis could have possibly expected,
48:18where does it leave him now
48:21in his eminence
48:21as a heavyweight champion,
48:22and where does he go from here?
48:23Jim,
48:25legacies,
48:26as newsmen always talk about
48:28with heavyweight champions
48:29and presidents,
48:31change in boxing,
48:33not just from fight to fight,
48:35but sometimes
48:35from round to round.
48:38Lennox Lewis
48:39has now fought
48:40for the heavyweight title
48:4116 times.
48:43He's lost twice.
48:44He has emphatically
48:46reversed
48:47both losses.
48:48Where do you think
48:49that will put
48:50his legacy?
48:52There are a number
48:53of reasons
48:53why American fight fans
48:55haven't been attracted
48:57to him,
48:58one of them being
48:58his size,
49:00the mere fact
49:01that he never seemed
49:02to impose himself
49:04on his opponents,
49:06that although much
49:07had been given to him,
49:09much more was expected
49:10of him,
49:11and in this fight,
49:12he delivered.
49:13Where does he go from here?
49:15Well,
49:16he obviously wants Tyson.
49:18Tyson is a fighter
49:19of his generation.
49:21He is also
49:21a mandatory challenger,
49:23and also that's
49:24where the most money is.
49:25But,
49:26if they can't make a deal,
49:28or if other political
49:29considerations
49:30become involved,
49:31we could see him
49:32fight somebody else.
49:34Chris Byrd
49:34is another
49:35mandatory challenger.
49:37Then there's
49:38Kirk Johnson,
49:39undefeated Canadian,
49:40who is a mandatory
49:41challenger
49:42for yet another title.
49:43And,
49:44there is
49:45Vladimir Klitschko,
49:46the gold medalist
49:48from 96,
49:49the fighter
49:50many people regard
49:51as the most
49:52talented heavyweight
49:53in the world.
49:54He's got a lot
49:55of options out there,
49:56Jim,
49:56but there's only one
49:58that really interests him.
49:59Absolutely.
50:00About 99.44%
50:01of the public
50:02only wants to see
50:03one fight, George.
50:04They want to see
50:05Lewis against Mike Tyson.
50:06At this stage
50:07of their respective careers,
50:09what kind of fight
50:09would it be?
50:10Good fight.
50:11Tyson is excellent.
50:12He knows how to
50:13slip left hands
50:14and get close.
50:15Lewis has made
50:16the orders for him.
50:17He loves fighting
50:17big guys
50:18and he's successful
50:19with them.
50:19Lewis,
50:20on the other hand,
50:20has got a left jab
50:21going for him.
50:22If he continuously
50:23keep it up,
50:24he can beat anybody.
50:25So there are
50:26style advantages
50:27for both fighters
50:28in the fight.
50:29As Larry said,
50:30which Lewis shows up?
50:31That's the big question.
50:32Could Tyson handle
50:33the Lewis who showed up
50:34in this fight
50:34against Rachman?
50:35It would be a rough
50:36go for him,
50:37but Tyson is able
50:38to slip and move
50:38like no other
50:39small man before him.
50:41Well,
50:41it may take place
50:42in the spring.
50:43Don't despair
50:44fight fans.
50:45I know we've all
50:46waited a long time,
50:47but the real prospect
50:48of Lewis Tyson
50:49has never been clearer
50:51and more apparent
50:52than is the case
50:53right now.
50:54So cross your fingers
50:55as we all look forward
50:56to more excitement
50:57in the heavyweight division
50:59and a final definition
51:00of what Lennox Lewis,
51:01after all these years,
51:03has really meant
51:03to the sport.
51:04Thanks very much
51:05for being with us.
51:05We'll look forward
51:06to being at ringside
51:07with you again.
51:08Please take note
51:09of these program reminders.
51:10December 1,
51:11HBO's World Championship
51:12boxing returns
51:13with a heavyweight
51:14doubleheader.
51:15Vladimir Klitschko
51:16takes on David Aizan
51:17and Lance Mount,
51:19or as he prefers,
51:20Goofy Whitaker
51:21faces Jameel McCline.
51:22Two weeks later,
51:23more heavyweights.
51:24It'll be Evander Holyfield
51:25against belt holder
51:26John Ruiz
51:26live on HBO.
51:28Can Evander
51:28defeat Father Time
51:29and Ruiz
51:30in their rubber match?
51:31Tune in
51:32and see for yourself.
51:34Evander Holyfield,
51:36the warrior,
51:37a legendary
51:37three-time world champion
51:39one of the greatest
51:40fighters of our time.
51:41Look at Holyfield!
51:42What a warrior!
51:43He's given us
51:43some of the most
51:44thrilling performances ever.
51:45He is just amazing!
51:47John Ruiz,
51:48the breakthrough
51:49Latino heavyweight
51:50who's made some
51:50history of his own.
51:51Both have dueled
51:52twice before
51:53and each has tasted victory.
51:55Don't miss this
51:55third and final
51:56heavyweight showdown,
51:58Ruiz vs. Holyfield.
52:00And on the 26th,
52:02it's a replay of this month's
52:03Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
52:05Among the stories,
52:06an exclusive interview
52:07with former Dallas Cowboy
52:08great Mike Lurvin.
52:09He's recently had
52:10charges dropped
52:11against him
52:11on a technicality,
52:13but trouble always
52:14seems to linger
52:15around this future
52:16Hall of Famer.
52:17Each Thursday,
52:18don't miss
52:18Inside the NFL.
52:20Things are a little
52:20different for Chris,
52:21Len, and the boys
52:22this season.
52:22Beside the usual
52:23raucous commentary
52:24and predictions,
52:25we have new features,
52:27including one with
52:27Chris Rock,
52:28comedian Wanda Sykes,
52:30and another showing
52:31practical jokes
52:32NFL players perform
52:33on one another.
52:34And on December 4,
52:35Sports of the 20th Century
52:37brings you
52:37The Game of Their Lives,
52:39a documentary
52:39which examines football
52:41in the 1950s
52:42and how that decade
52:43shaped the NFL game
52:45which is now
52:45a multi-million dollar business.
52:47The Game of Their Lives
52:48premieres Tuesday,
52:49December 4,
52:50right here on HBO.
52:52And so now,
52:53for all of us
52:54here at the Mandalay Bay
52:54in Las Vegas, Nevada,
52:56I'm Jim Lampley
52:57saying so long.
52:58Our executive producer
53:00is Rick Bernstein.
53:02Rockman vs. Lewis II
53:03produced by Dave Harmon
53:04and directed by Mark Hayden.
53:07Associate producers
53:08Thomas Odlefelt
53:08and Brian Lockhart.
53:10Assistant to the producer
53:11Greg Stern.
53:12Production manager
53:13Mark Hayden.
53:14Technical supervisor
53:15Bob Hunter.
53:16And the technical director
53:17was Brad Sheldon.
53:31The Game of Their Lives
54:22This has been a presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.
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